DATE: Tuesday, November 18, 1997            TAG: 9711180304

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  134 lines

HAMPTON ROADS [BRIEFS]

SUFFOLK

After fire, majority

of displaced families

return to apartments

Fifteen of the 24 families displaced by a Friday morning fire at the Belleville Meadows Apartments have returned to their homes, the director of the local chapter of the Red Cross said.

The nine families in the most severely damaged section of the apartment complex will stay with friends and family until their building is repaired, said Faye Byrum, director of the Suffolk Red Cross chapter. Construction workers have begun repairing the apartments.

The apartment fire in northern Suffolk caused $225,000 in damage, and destroyed most of the personal belongings of eight families in the complex. Fire officials determined that the blaze was caused by a stove burner accidently left on.

Cash donations to the families may be made by contacting the Suffolk chapter of the Red Cross at 539-6645. To donate furniture or perishables, contact Belleville Meadows Apartment management at 483-1771.

Public invited to tour

public schools today

Suffolk residents are invited to drop in to their neighborhood public school today as most of the city's schools host an open house in honor of American Education Week.

The theme of the celebration, which ends Saturday, is ``Teaching Children to Think and Dream.''

Schools holding open house today include: Booker T. Washington Elementary; Driver Elementary; Elephant's Fork Elementary; Florence Bowser Elementary; Mount Zion Elementary; Nansemond Parkway Elementary; Robertson Elementary; John Yeates Middle; and Lakeland High.

Oakland Elementary will host open house on Wednesday in conjunction with the annual celebration of the school's ``Chief's Feast.''

Northern Shores Elementary will host a community luncheon on Thursday.

Other activities to mark the week are planned for all the schools.

NORFOLK

Partnership to raise funds

for armed forces memorial

Officials with the Greater Norfolk Corp. and the city announced Monday that they have formed a partnership to raise $250,000 needed to build a proposed armed forces memorial at Town Point Park.

The Greater Norfolk Corp., a group of prominent business and professional leaders organized to promote the city, will lead the fund-raising effort. The goal is to have the money raised by Christmas, and for construction to begin early next year and be finished by Memorial Day.

The memorial, designed by Seattle architect James L. Cutler, will feature bronze castings of letters sent home by military personnel during wars that have involved America. It will be located on 160 square feet of land at the western end of Town Point Park.

At a fund-raising kickoff breakfast Monday, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3219 in Hampton got things rolling with a $1,000 donation.

Commission on the arts

gets two new officers

Susan T. Bernard was elected chairwoman of the Norfolk Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and Margie Day-Walker was elected the commissioner's secretary.

Bernard is the executive director of the d'Art Center, and Day-Walker is the executive director of CenterStage Inc.

The Norfolk Commission on the Arts and Humanities promotes the success and increases the availability of artistic and cultural experiences for the region. Portsmouth

Alzheimer's center taking

applications for residents

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Health Center is now accepting applications for residents in the Christopher Center.

The Christopher Center will provide specialized care for Alzheimer's and dementia patients by professionals with expertise in meeting their needs. The center will be located in a separate wing with three pavilions of 20 rooms each.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Health Center is under construction at 4560 Princess Anne Road. It is scheduled to open in the fall of 1998.

For more information, call Dena Ziegler at 495-4211.

PORTSMOUTH Winners of $9.3 million

lottery finally come forward

The owners of the $9.3 million lottery ticket sold at the Farmco Pharmacy on West Norfolk Road in Churchland have come forward.

On Monday, George and Betty Jones of Portsmouth claimed their jackpot prize from the Virginia Lottery's headquarters in Richmond.

The winning numbers from the Oct. 25 drawing were 8-13-21-22-28-34.

George Jones selected the winning combination using special dates and family birthdays.

``I've played the Lotto game since it began,'' Jones said. ``I play the same set of numbers for every drawing.''

The couple said they waited this long to claim the prize so they could get their affairs in order. They plan to use the money to pay bills, invest and share with family.

Jones chose to receive his winnings over a 25-year period. The couple received their first payment of $372,652 before taxes ($253,403 after taxes) on Monday and will receive 24 additional annual payments of $372,000 before taxes ($252,960 after taxes).

The Lottery is required to withhold 28 percent for federal taxes and 4 percent for state taxes on all prizes over $5,000.

Play on area's history

to be performed today

Two acts from the play ``Summers in Suffolk,'' written and directed by Sheri Bailey, will be presented from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the Art Atrium II Gallery, 629 High St.

``Summers in Suffolk'' is a six-act cycle play capturing the history of Hampton Roads. The six plays span from 1870 to the present, and each play can stand alone.

Bailey, a Portsmouth native, is the winner of a National Education Association individual Theatre Artist Award and is a multiple nominee for the NAACP's Theatre Image Awards as best playwright. She is the author of more than a dozen plays and has had more than 20 productions around the country.

Admission is $10 and includes a light meal.

ALSO. . . Virginia Beach - The Virginia Beach Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will be closed today for shelter maintenance. The SPCA, at 3040 Holland Road, will reopen Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. Emergencies will be handled by Animal Control.

Region - Mothers Inc. needs 600 turkeys. You can help make its 11th annual all-volunteer Thanksgiving campaign for 600 needy families a success by dropping off a frozen turkey any time until Thanksgiving morning at: Mothers Inc., 417 16th St., Virginia Beach, Va. 23451. Or send a tax-deductible check to Mothers Inc. Call Brenda McCormick at 491-2887 for more information. MEMO: Staff writers Jon Glass, Lou Hansen, Mark Young, Rebecca Myers

Cutchins and Debbie Markham contributed to this report.

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